Independent MLAS may sway the Upper House battle in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: Thirteen independent MLAS in the Rajasthan assembly will decide the fate of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the two parties try to bag an extra seat from the state in the Rajya Sabha elections on June 10.

Elections for four seats of the Upper House will be held in India’s geographically largest state. The Congress and the BJP are poised to win two and one respectively, setting the stage for a tight contest for the fourth berth.

As MLAS vote to elect their party’s candidates in the Rajya Sabha election, in Rajasthan, a party requires 41 votes to get a candidate elected in this round of biennial elections. The Congress with 108 MLAS is falling short of 15 votes to have its third candidate elected while the BJP, with 71 lawmakers, requires additional 11 votes to secure a second candidate’s victory.

Apart from the Congress and the BJP, there is Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Lok Tantrik Party with 3 MLAS, Ajit Singhled Rashtriya Lok Dal with one

MLA, and two members each of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) and CPI(M).

The Congress, for its part, is confident of support of the BTP and the CPI(M).

“At least 12 of the 13 independent MLAS, too, may back the Congress candidates as they have been supportive of the Congress government in the state,” according to a senior party leader, who added that the BTP and the CPI(M) will also definitely vote for the Congress as they are “averse to the BJP”.

But the BJP has been known to pull rabbits out of hats in several elections. In 2017, it forged an alliance in Goa overnight and assumed power even as the Congress emerged as the biggest party in the election. In the same year, the late Ahmed Patel won his Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in a nail-biting finish after the BJP, having secured its two seats, put up another candidate to scuttle Patel’s chances.

The BJP has so far not commented on the Rajya Sabha elections in Rajasthan.

A second senior Congress leader said that Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is in communication with the independent MLAS and smaller parties. “We are absolutely confident of our win even if the BJP tries to poach a few lawmakers, it can’t make up for the additional 11 votes for its second candidate,” the senior Congress leader said.

The Congress has already been reduced to 29 MPS in the Upper House from 64 in 2014 -- a combination of drubbings in multiple state elections, and some of its leaders quitting the party.

The former Assam Congress president Bhubneshwar Kalita, the chief whip of the party in Rajya Sabha, for instance, made a dramatic exit on August 5, 2019, hours before he was supposed to make a speech against the BJP government. Later, party leaders admitted they had no clue that Kalita would quit.

THE CONG AND BJP ARE POISED TO WIN 2 AND ONE SEATS, RESPECTIVELY, SETTING THE STAGE FOR A TIGHT CONTEST FOR THE FOURTH BERTH